Tethered ball apparatus



u y '8 1969 L. J. PomoN: 3,454,275

TETHERED BALL APPARATUS Filed Dec. 8. 1966 4rmeMa/5.

United States Patent 3,454,275 TETI-IERED BALL APPARATUS Louis J. Pontone, 935 E. 32nd St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11210 Filed Dec. 8, 1966, Ser. No. 600,175 Int. Cl. A63b 43/00, 69/22 US. Cl. 273-26 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide a ball game apparatus and, more particularly, to provide a ball game apparatus adaptable to indoor or outdoor installation.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the inventive device.

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the horizontal branch of the arm, taken substantially along the line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the vertical branch of the arm, taken substantially along the line 33 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a view of the pedestal.

FIGURE 5 is an end view of an embodiment similar to FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a side view of a spring clip.

FIGURE 7 is a partial front view of a pedestal having a spring clip adapted thereto.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGURES l to 7 a ball game apparatus 10 comprising an L-shaped arm 11 having a pair of branches 12, 13. One of the branches 12 is vertically mountable on a pedestal which is adapted to being vertically supported on a surface 30 such as a tree, a wall, or the like by means of screws 21. The other of the branches 13 is adapted to being variably positioned with respect to the pedestal 20 in one of three horizontal positions 16, 17, 18. It is seen that the latter branch 13 may be selectively moved to one of the positions 16, 17, 18 such that it horizontally projects from the pedestal at an angle of approximately ninety degrees with respect thereto. Further, the horizontal branch 13 is provided with 'a sling 15 adapted to rotate in place thereabouts. Hanging from the sling 15 is a ball 14 stringmounted to the sling and adapted to being struck with a bat to cause the ball, string and sling to rotate about the horizontal arm.

It is a feature of the invention to form the arm 11 from a hollow plastic tube and provide a sling positioning means in the end of the horizontal arm remote from the pedestal. The sling positioning means 25 may conveniently comprise a pair of raised annular protrusions formed in the horizontal arm. The purpose of providing the sling positioning means is to hold the sling in place on the ice arm as it rotates thereabouts. The arm may be conveniently formed from a single section of plastic tubing bendable along the longitudinal length thereof to form the L-shaped bend therein to the end that an inexpensively fabricated light-weight device is provided.

The vertically mountable pedestal 20 is provided with a pair of plastic loops 23 mounted thereon which are adapted to vertically support the vertical branch of the arm. The loops 23 cooperate with the arm 11 to provide means for selectively positioning the horizontal branch 13 thereof. It is seen that the vertical branch of the arm has a substantially square cross-section which is adapted to being slidably received by the loops, whereas the horizontal branch is of a substantially circular cross-section. Positioning the arm in one of the three positions 16, 17, 18 is accomplished by lifting the arm upwardly through the loops, turning the horizontally projecting portion thereof to the desired position and then lowering the arm downwardly through the loops. The vertically positionable arm may be conveniently held in place by a resilient spring member 35. This member 35 may be advantageously anchored to the pedestal by passing therethrough (FIG- URE 6) mounting screws used to vertically mount the pedestal. It is seen that the spring member 35 is mounted on the pedestal and disposed to hold the arm in place on the pedestal with capacity for removal therefrom.

The ball is preferably formed from a resiliently deformable material such as plastic, rubber, or the like. However, it is a feature of the invention to provide a string 19 formed from a plastic filament which may be slidably passed through the ball and knotted at the opposite side thereof to prevent the ball 14 from falling off the end of the string remote from the sling 15. The other end of the string is endwise connected to a pair of eyes 26 formed in the opposite ends of the sling 15.

It is a feature of the invention to provide a washer 40 between the ball and the knotted end of the string remote from the sling so as to prevent the ball from passing over the knot.

The pedestal 20 is preferably formed from a plastic or hard rubber slab having a plurality of openings 27 formed therein to receive the mounting screws 21, and loops 23 formed integrally therewith for simplicity of manufacture. The pedestal provides a substantially rectangular baseor platform having a pair of substantially rectangularly formed loops protruding therefrom to slidably receive the rectangularly formed portion of the arm which is held in place by spring tension exerted thereupon by the S-shaped spring member 35 of FIGURES 5-7.

It is a further feature of the invention to provide a hollow plastic bat adaptable to striking the ball to cause the ball, string and sling to rotate about the horizonal arm.

The apparatus is operated or put into use by vertically mounting the pedestal on a substantially vertical surface at a predetermined height, lowering the supporting branch of an L-shaped arm into position on the pedestal for support thereon, hanging the sling with its string-mounted ball attached thereto on the end of the projecting branch remote from the pedestal and striking the ball with a bat to cause the ball, string and sling to rotate about the projecting arm.

It should be appreciated that a weather-proof construction adaptable to being mounted indoors and/or outdoors at the option of the purchaser is achieved by forming all of the parts from a corrosive-resistant plastic, hard rubber, aluminum, or the like. The exceedingly inexpensive construction of the inventive device is expected to enhance the marketability thereof over toys and games having like functions.

It is understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention,

and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the examples of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A ball game apparatus comprising an L-shaped arm having a pair of branches, a vertically mountable pedestal adapted to vertically support one of said branches and allow the other of said branches to be selectively positioned horizontally therefrom, a sling adapted to rotate in place around the horizontal branch, and a ball string-mounted to the sling and adapted to being struck with a bat to cause the ball, string and sling to rotate about the horizontal arm, said arm comprising a hollow plastic tube having a sling positioning means adapted to the horizontally projecting branch thereof to hold the sling in place thereon as it rotate thereabout, said vertically mountable pedestal having a pair of plastic loops mounted thereon which are adapted to vertically support the vertical branch of said arm in place, said vertical and horizontal branches being formed from a single section of plastic tubing, said vertical branch having a substantially square cross-section adapted to being slidably received by said loops, said horizontal branch having a substantially circular cross-section, and said sling positioning means comprising a pair of rims formed in the end of said horizontal branch remote from the pedestal, said ball being a resiliently deformable structure, said string comprising a plastic filament slidably passed through the ball and having a knot formed therein to prevent the ball from falling off the end of the string remote from the sling, said string having the end thereof remote from the ball mounted on the sling, including a spring member mounted on the pedestal and disposed to hold the arm in place with respect to the pedestal.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,925,276 2/1960 Leclerc 273-200 2,929,632 3/ 1960 Moifatt 273-26 3,006,647 10/ 1961 Haskett 273-26 3,174,628 3/1965 Kirch 248-224 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

THEATRICE BROWN, Assistant Examiner.

V US. Cl. X.R. 248-224; 273-58 

